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Frontier Lord Chapter 029: Leaf Manure Stone

Upon my return to the village of Irk, I carried the leather bag containing the Leaf Manure Stone. As I approached, I noticed Senai and Aihan playing with wooden sticks, sketching something on the ground. Spotting me along with Francis and his wife, they swiftly got up, discarded their sticks, and rushed over to greet us.

「Hey! Today you came back right on time!」

「Welcome back!」

Senai and Aihan exclaimed, flashing me warm smiles.

「I’m back.」

I responded to their greeting, and in return, Senai and Aihan beamed with satisfaction. They then dashed off toward the square. In perfect harmony, they chorused, 「Diaz is back!」 They proceeded to update Aruna, Grandma Maya, and the others who were arranging laundry on the drying area in the square—a space fashioned from materials repurposed from the yurts.

Aruna smiled and said, 「Is that so? Well, thank you for telling us about it.」 

Grandma Maya also smiled and expressed her gratitude, saying, 「Thank you kids.」 while patting Senai and Aihan on their heads. The kids then ran over to me, presumably wanting to be patted some more. Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the leather bag I held, and their expressions turned to surprise.

「What’s that? Did they give you something???」

「Let me see! Let me see!」

The two of them exclaimed, stretching their hands.

They reached into the bag and began to bounce up and down with curiosity. Although I knew the Leaf Manure Stone wasn’t a mere plaything, their eyes gleamed with eagerness, revealing their unwavering determination to uncover its contents. With a resigned sigh, I realized that they wouldn’t relent until they saw what was inside. It seemed there was no other option but to reveal its secrets.

I gently lowered the bag I had been carrying to the ground and opened it up, ensuring that the two individuals could easily glimpse its contents. 

Anticipating that Senai and Aihan, known lovers of shiny things, might immediately express excitement over the Leaf Manure Stone, I was ready for their enthusiastic reactions. However, upon peeking inside the bag, their expressions turned unexpectedly disheartened.

「That’s it?」 Senai let out a sigh of disappointment.

「This is no fun at all…」

Aihan muttered, his shoulders drooping.

In the blink of an eye, my own shoulders seemed to slump, mirroring my change in mood, and suddenly, Senai appeared quite annoyed.

「I don’t want all these boring looking rocks!」 Senai exclaimed, her voice rising, and her shoulders drooping.

「But there are so many of them…」 she muttered under her breath.

I found myself scratching my head, slightly worried by Senai and Aihan’s demeanor. Just moments ago, they had been all smiles and in high spirits yet that had all changed in a heartbeat. However, their disposition shifted as Francis and his wife called out to them. I wasn’t sure what he’d told them, but the kids quickly recovered. 

「Let’s play! Let’s play!」 Senai and Aihan enthusiastically responded, forming a group with Francis and his wife.

While I appreciated that Francis and his wife helped the kids improve their mood, I couldn’t help but wonder why Senai and Aihan reverted to describing the Leaf Manure Stone as dull and uninteresting.

The Leaf Manure Stones were truly a sight to behold, their beauty rivaling even the gems that Senai and Aihan had intricately weaved into their hair.

Despite the perception that it’s a mere worthless piece of stone, that’s precisely why others remain unaware of its true value…　

As I pondered over this, with a tilted head, Aruna, having finished setting the laundry to dry, approached me. With genuine curiosity, she peered into the bag… and then Aruna voiced her thoughts, saying, 「This is it? Isn’t it just a normal stone?」 Her tone suggested a willingness to give the Leaf Manure Stone the benefit of doubt.

「Aruna, from my perspective, the stone appears to be an exceptionally exquisite gemstone… Why do you categorize it as nothing more than a normal stone?」

「Are you really asking me that? The absence of magic is quite apparent—oh, I understand now, Dias, it’s because you aren’t attuned to sensing magic. Those acquainted with magic can discern upon sight that this stone possesses limited magic, lacking a receptacle to harness it… Though this stone might bear the appearance of a gem, the absence of magic relegates it to a mere stone.」

(I see. So one can discern the amount of Mana in an object just by looking at it. And the presence or lack of Mana in stones is what separates gems from normal stones…)

「I can understand why you were able to perceive Aruna, but to think that Senai and Aihan would notice it too…」

「They are lacking in some areas, but those two display remarkable abilities given their young age. At times, they appear to sense traces of Mana even beyond my own perception. Remarkably, they seem to accumulate Mana as if they were breathing it in, despite lacking horns that usually help with that. Their magical aptitude lacks refinement due to their incomplete knowledge, which is why they cannot use proper spells. Yet, through dedicated learning and practice, I’m optimistic that they will be able to surpass even the chieftain.」

Aruna’s words caught me off guard, and my gaze shifted towards Senai and Aihan.

Observing them chase, embrace, and frolic with Francis as he darted around, it was undeniable they were just youngsters in every respect. 

(To think that these two would be even more talented than Aruna…)

While I remained uncertain about the specifics of Mana, I couldn’t help but feel immensely proud of their distinctive talents. 

(No one knows what path they’ll pick once they grow up, but given their exceptional abilities I’m positive that a bright future awaits them. They might even become Archmages that guide this world to new heights…)

「By the way, Dias, what the hell are these rocks for?」

Aruna, cutting off my inflated imagination, crouched down by my side before I knew it and stuck her hand into the bag to fish out the Leaf Manure Stones inside.

「Those Leaf Manure Stone are something that is finely crushed and mixed into the soil. By mixing this in the soil it creates an environment for herbs to grow. Since they use it for cultivating herbs I thought I might as well give it a try in the fields and see how it works out. So I borrowed some from Mohr.」

When I said that, Aruna let out a small 「Hmph…」 and frowned a little.　

She was probably anxious at the prospect of the stones. Which was logical considering that among the Oni Tribe, attempting herb cultivation while one was young and healthy was seen as bad luck, and these stones were associated with precisely that.

Nonetheless, Aruna’s brow furrowed, but she still selected one of the Leaf Manure Stone. She proceeded to scrutinize it, gauging its weight, subjecting it to sunlight, and offering a gentle tap with her fist. 

Engrossed in her examination, after a while, Aruna abruptly unsheathed her sword from the sheath on her waist and struck the stone with its hilt.

「Odd, it appears robust, yet it’s an exceedingly delicate stone. A stone bowl should suffice for this… Or perhaps, given Dias’s remarkable strength, an iron one would be more suitable,」 she mused aloud before re-sheathing her sword, putting the Leaf Manure Stone back into the bag and heading into the yurt.

Given that we’d be breaking them apart either way I wasn’t too worried about the stone, but I’d never expected Aruna to do something like that out of nowhere. Her actions caught me off guard, leaving me to wonder whether the Leaf Manure Stone was truly as brittle as he suggested. Deciding to test it out I took a Leaf Manure Stone with one hand and began slamming my fist into it, but… 

(This is quite hard…)

「Dias…?! Just what in the world are you doing? Using your fists to crush it is pushing it too much even for you. Please, leave it before you injure yourself. Go and find an iron surface where you’ll be able to smack it with an iron rod.」

Aruna interjected upon her return from the yurt. She handed me a substantial, circular iron plate.

The plate was slightly dented in the center. Scars marked its center, as if it had encountered impacts. Atop the plate rested an iron cylinder, its size no bigger than a dagger.

Upon accepting her offerings, Aruna promptly turned around and proceeded to leave, as if her task was concluded.

「W-Wait just a second! Aruna! Just what in the world is this?」

「Isn’t it obvious? It’s an iron bowl and an iron rod…. Don’t tell me you haven’t used them before? They’re utilized for crushing stones and refining gemstones. I thought you might need them for breaking the stones so I took them out… Would you like me to show you how to use them?」 Aruna inquired.

It wasn’t hard to imagine how to use it. I simply had to place a stone in the iron bowl and smash it with the iron rod. Despite this I still decided to seek Aruna’s help just in case.

According to Aruna, one used the iron plate by placing it atop the legs in a seated position. To break a stone, one had to place the stone in the central caved in part and strike it powerfully with the iron rod.

The iron bowl’s design, resembling that of a plate, was made with its practical use in mind. It simplified its placement on the legs when one was seated, diminished the spread of dust and debris, and made it easier to transfer the pulverized materials into another vessel. Aruna’s explanation enlightened me on the iron bowl’s various uses.

Coincidentally, there appeared to be three types of bowls: wooden, stone, and iron. These varieties were positioned by the hearth inside the yurt. I had no prior memory of having seen them before and felt a slight dismay at my lack of observational skills.

「The iron bowls are less prone to breakage compared to the other materials and can endure rough handling. I suppose you’ve got the gist by now so I’ll be leaving to take care of my other tasks.」

「Of course. Thank you Aruna. You were a lot of help. I’ll get to work and show these Leaf Manure Stones who’s boss in no time.」

After saying her goodbyes Aruna displayed a shy smile before hurrying away. She joined Grandma Maya and the others who had commenced the task of hanging the bedding out in the sun.

The sight of Aruna’s slight smile caught me a bit off guard, forcing me to think about whether she’d been smiling more often these days. I shook my head to dismiss such thoughts, reasoning that it was time to focus on the task at hand. After all, Aruna had gone to the trouble of bringing me the tools.

After fetching myself an empty jar from the warehouse to serve as a container for the crushed Leaf Manure Stones, I proceeded to the plaza. Seated on the floor with my legs crossed, I positioned the iron bowl on top of them and was all set to begin.

Taking out a Leaf Manure Stone from the bag I placed it in the iron bowl’s center, tightened my grip around the iron bar, and delivered a strong blow. Phew! This is way easier than using my fists!

Nonetheless, the force behind the blow proved excessive, sending a reverberation through my legs. Thus, a slight adjustment to the force of my blows was necessary to fracture the stone effectively. Additionally, finding the optimal point of impact and angle was crucial.

I continued breaking the Leaf Manure Stone into smaller and smaller segments. I then further crushed the now small pieces by using the iron bar and gently tapping them, to crush them even more finely.

In time the Leaf Manure Stone pieces turned into powder. I picked up the iron bowl and funneled the Leaf Manure Stone powder into the jar via a small funnel. I then repeated the entire process, first beginning with placing a Leaf Manure Stone in the iron bowl and splitting it into two. 　

Once I got into the groove, the process proved more engaging than I’d initially anticipated. Deeply engrossed in it, I continued diligently until the sun began to dip behind the horizon.